Boulder News

Colorado's local-control compromise effort remains a steep climb

One of the many oil and gas derricks in Northern Colorado was photographed Tuesday evening, April 15, 2014. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Days after a failure by Colorado lawmakers to defuse a bitter controversy over the issue of local control of oil and gas drilling, Gov. John Hickenlooper and major players in the energy industry and business interests met this week seeking middle ground.

Energy and business groups are stridently opposed to the proposals, several of which are backed by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat.

Hickenlooper on Tuesday held two meetings with a broad array of industry and local government groups in an attempt to create legislation that would head off the ballot issues.

"The governor is searching for a way to keep those initiatives off the ballot," said Andy Karsian, legislative coordinator for Colorado Counties Inc., which represents the state's 64 counties.

Hickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown said Tuesday's meetings were the latest in a series of discussions to find consensus on the divisive issue instead of ballot measures that would become part of the state constitution.

But the talks are taking place amid signs that compromise may be hard to reach.

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"The governor has said he won't go forward unless there is consensus," said Brett Moore, lobbyist for the National Association of Royalty Owners. "That is a high bar."

Energy and business groups say existing state regulations on drilling already are tough enough to protect local communities. Environmental groups claim that oil and gas development must take into account health and quality-of-life concerns from local residents.

"The regulations we have in place are among the most robust, perhaps the most robust in the country," said Rachel Nance of Vital for Colorado, a business-advocacy group formed to oppose the ballot initiatives.

Environment Colorado was not a participant in the talks but supports more local oversight of drilling.

"It's important that those discussions are going on between those stakeholders, but the bottom line is communities need to have local control," said Jeanne Bassett, a senior associate with the group.

Several of the proposed ballot initiatives would give local communities more control over drilling and increase setbacks by two to five times the state's current 500-foot rule.

Three other proposed ballot initiatives are energy-industry countermeasures that would clarify the state's control over drilling.

Nine of the ballot measures are sponsored by Coloradans for Local Control, a group backed by Polis.

Local control and setbacks are issues that the state, local governments and the courts have wrestled with over the years.

"Some counties want hands off and think things are fine; some want more local control," Karsian said. "Local control means something different in Boulder County than Weld County."

Boulder has placed a moratorium on drilling. Weld is the most heavily drilled county in the state.

The debate is further complicated by divisions in the oil and gas industry — some companies reportedly are seeking a legislative compromise, and others oppose it.

"We've seen this in a split between large operators and small ones on the air and setback regulations," Karsian said.

In February, Colorado adopted tougher air emission control requirements for oil and gas operations.

Three large operators — Encana Corp., Noble Energy Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. — worked on the rules, which were criticized by some in the industry.

"I think there is a division of opinion about how to resolve this issue," said the governor's chief strategic director, Alan Salazar. "One option is to try to handle this legislatively, if not in a special session maybe in an upcoming session. Then there's a point of view that it's better to go do the ballot and fight this out."

The meeting with the various interests — including the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau, the Western Slope business group Club 20 and the Colorado Municipal League — lasted about an hour.

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